This paper suggests that knowledge is shared in organizations through the transformation of occupational communities' situated understandings their work. In this paper, I link misunderstandings between engineers, technicians, and assemblers on a production floor to work contexts, demonstrate how members these communities overcome such problems by cocreating common ground transforms understanding product process. particular, find knowledge-sharing difficulties are rooted differences language,...

This paper introduces a model of collective creativity that explains how the locus creative problem solving shifts, at times, from individual to interactions collective. The is grounded in observations, interviews, informal conversations, and archival data gathered intensive field studies work professional service firms. evidence suggests although some solutions can be seen as products insight, others should regarded momentary process. Such reflects qualitative shift nature process,...

Temporary organizations are known to provide flexibility for industries that rely on them, but we know little about their implications how work is accomplished and coordinated. In this paper, I propose common portrayals of temporary as ephemeral unstable inaccurate: in fact organized around structured role systems whose nuances negotiated situ. This paper analyzes one type organization, film projects, exploring the way which roles both organize immediate maintain continuity across different...

Our research examines how parties challenging established social systems collaborate with defenders of those to achieve mutual goals. With field interviews and observations from four community projects in the open-source movement, we examine these collaborated firms defending proprietary approaches software development. Drawing on movement organizational theory, explain not only mobilize their goals but they are able transform contestation into collaboration. Open-source held divergent...

Coordination, the process of interaction that integrates a collective set interdependent tasks, is central purpose organizations. In this review we begin by discussing origins interest in coordination, tracing some classic perspectives. We present recent literature on coordination organizations arranged according to mechanisms help achieve it. then go beyond provide framework understand what different and activities accomplish. propose (such as routines, meetings, plans, schedules) impact...

Coordination, the process of interaction that integrates a collective set interdependent tasks, is central purpose organizations. In this review we begin by discussing origins interest in coordination, tracing some classic perspectives. We present recent literature on coordination organizations arranged according to mechanisms help achieve it. then go beyond provide framework understand what different and activities accomplish. propose (such as routines, meetings, plans, schedules) impact...

While the development and control of professional jurisdictions has been well studied, less is known about way in which occupational are enacted within organizations. This article suggests that one can gain insight such dynamics through analyzing communities' use organizational artifacts. describes ways two artifacts—engineering drawings machines—mediate relations engineers, technicians, assemblers a manufacturing firm. These artifacts useful problem solving across boundaries. At same time,...

Organizations increasingly face surprises with regularity, yet little is known about how they develop the responses to unexpected events that enable their work continue. We compare ethnographic data from two types of organizations regularly deal surprises, a police SWAT team and film production crews. find individuals engage in organizational bricolage, restructuring activities by role shifting, reorganizing routines, reassembling work. Organizational bricolage depends on sociocognitive...

In the wake of media hype about artificial intelligence (AI)/human collaboration, organizations are investing considerable resources into developing and using AI. this paper, we draw on theories technology in to frame new directions for study what it means work “with” Drawing prior literature, consider how interactions between users AI might unfold through theoretical lenses which cast as a tool medium. Reflecting technologies diverge from studied past, propose perspective, considers...

Changes in employment relationships have diminished the degree to which internal labor markets shape careers. Using comparative field studies, we examine how contract workers try achieve career progression without benefit of organizational guidance. Specifically, manage paradox: problem finding a job prior experience. "Stretchwork" bridging from proven competencies new ones helps reconcile this paradox. We identify four tactics used acquire stretchwork, explore conditions affecting success...

In this essay I argue that organizational theorizing would benefit from incorporating a richer understanding of work and occupations. To demonstrate how, turn to recent literature analyzing inhabited institutions, occupations as negotiated orders. explore the theoretical methodological implications these approaches show how they challenge some our more abstract images organizations. They do so by grounding their frameworks in practices interaction, interpretation meaning, understandings...

This article presents data from an ethnographic study of science technicians. The proposes a model the technician's role as broker in serially interdependent occupational division labor and then contextualizes by examining how technicians conceptualize manage troubles that arise course scientific procedures. suggest possess most lab's contextual knowledge skill technicians, therefore, play critical production knowledge. Because carries less status than formal knowledge, however, experience...

In this paper, we study the way that nascent occupations constructing an occupational mandate invoke not only skills and expertise or a new technology to distinguish themselves from other occupations, but also their values. We studied service design, emerging occupation whose practitioners aim understand customers help organizations develop improved services customer experiences, translate those into feasible solutions, implement them. Practitioners enacted values in daily work activities...

Current trends in telecommuting and non-territorial office design have changed what it means to work an on-site and, subsequently, increased the number of functions is expected serve. At same time, innovations technology provide today's managers more choices than ever when outfitting their offices. This article offers a framework leveraged that illustrates how can make both capitalize on newest serve emerging needs corporate workers. The specifically explores three workplace design:...

Organizational fields are a central construct in institutional theory and the notion of shared meaning is integral to definition “field.” In this review, we discuss how scholars have examined discourse, rhetoric, framing as mechanisms through which meanings form, change, coalesce fields. We assess important contributions literature, but also argue that what identify frames residues or echoes prior social interactions. When miss opportunity examine interactions key mechanism source these...

We examine how different occupational communities that are embedded in organizations exercise control processes to achieve emergent coordination as they create complex products together. compare two types of organizations, equipment manufacturing and film production, find although was important for both settings, this relationship varied according aspects embeddedness: organizational acknowledgment interdependence. In the setting, latent: visibly conformed while exercising behind scenes...

Most studies of technologies’ impact on occupational change focus groups’ adoption and use particular technologies in a field or workplace. Drawing an 18-month ethnographic study crime laboratory, I instead “evaluative spillovers”: the comparisons that occupations encounter when work neighboring their field. explore what happened DNA profiling was held up as “gold standard” forensic evidence, resulting scientific, public, legal scrutiny other science groups. Comparisons with challenged...

In the decade since publication of Julian Orr’s Talking About Machines: An Ethnography a Modern Job, field organization studies has yet to develop rich and complete picture world knowledge workers. this essay, I argue that theory would benefit if scholars followed lead devoted increased ethnographic attention technical work. Thick descriptions situated work practices workers help us understand complex relationship work, occupations, organizations. particular, suggest further investigation...

Using qualitative methods, we examined how observers assessed professional women when they cried at work. Our findings showed that, in four common but stressful work situations, used relatively complex and context-specific cognitive scripts to evaluate female colleagues who cried. Specifically, found that script violation led make dispositional attributions of criers (i.e., were weak, unprofessional, and/or manipulative), whereas confirmation them situational experiencing a tough situation...

This essay in honor of ASQ's 70th volume surveys how technology-driven changes scholarly publishing have introduced algorithmic management to organizational research. The internet greatly reduced the cost journals and prompted an orders-of-magnitude increase number articles while also foregrounding quantitative metrics for scholarship. Given academic incentive system publish or perish, new online ecosystem has encouraged problematic practices by scholars publishers that threaten standards...

Purpose This collection of commentaries on the reprinted 1987 article by Nancy C. Morey and Fred Luthans, “Anthropology: forgotten behavioral science in management history”, aims to reflect treatment history anthropological work organizational studies presented original article. Design/methodology/approach The essays are invited peer‐reviewed contributions from scholars anthropology. Findings comment have seen its value, their ground content contemporary issues debates. Originality/value was...